Alexa Is Paperless (2)

Alexa grew up in New York City. She attended Harvard. She was at CBS for two years after college. She did not find the medium - television - all that interesting. Everything had already been figured out. The idea for the company first came from her brother who is a cofounder. I don't know of another brother sister cofounding team to a tech startup.

She thinks the ability to appreciate what people bring to the table is key. She thinks it is important to know what she does not know. Every wanna be leader pays lip service to the team concept, but Alexa means it.

I tried to dig in. When you go back to your early years, or maybe your years at college, are there biographical details that would emerge that might have led one to believe you would do what you are doing now? She absolutely brushed off the question. The idea came from the brother. And the team built what they built.

She says the tech startup has been a case of riding a bike as you build it. It was more true early on, but is still true. She is still building the bike as she rides it.

She deployed a basic product before she ever raised any money. Before you know it, she had real users, people who were not friends and family who were using the service. One early user said, "I made something really cool!" about a card she had made and sent out using the service.

That sense of ownership has driven the growth. What do you mean you made something? The PaperlessPost team has made everything. But to the end user, it does not feel that way. To the end user it feels like they themselves are putting out the art work.

More than 15 million cards have been sent out so far. It has been more for the consumer than the corporate user, kind of like Apple products.